


The Soldier

by WintersKeeper



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Mutants, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29366064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WintersKeeper/pseuds/WintersKeeper
Summary: Set during Captain America: The Winter Soldier.Sarah Briggs, a national historian and SHIELD secret agent, is tasked with organising the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. When Director Fury is reportedly murdered, her world instantly turns upside down as she runs to protect his last wishes before SHEILD's secrets come crashing down. (Chapter notes located at bottom of pages).
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 13





	1. The Masquerade Gala

Sarah had made it her personal goal to arrive earlier than expected, setting up the Gala at the Smithsonian had taken up much of her spare time and she didn't want to be one of those 'fashionably' late people, she'd arrive on time or earlier. 

Knowing how many artefacts had been collected and sorted then stored within the museum was both wonderful and terrifying, history had meant everything to Sarah, it had been her whole life from the moment she watched her first documentary film on World War Two in seventh grade. 

Pursuing her career was a no-brainer after that, she attended university and graduated four years later a professional historian, picking up a paid internship with the Smithsonian that same year. She happily shared her passion for history with the museums curator who had eventually offered her the job of securing the artefacts for the new Captain America exhibit. 

It was whilst in the middle of a trip to New York, to visit the metropolitan museum, that the God Loki had attacked. The entire city had turned itself upside down in a matter of minutes and had it not been for the Avengers aid, Sarah knew she wouldn't have survived, let alone the artefacts. 

It was a quiet journey home, many still traumatised and some terrified by the fact real life aliens... aliens, had invaded Earth. Talk about crazy... Sarah had tried her best to continue with her work back in Washington when they arrived. She would smile at her co-workers, listen when they needed an ear and try to make sure her team were no more stressed than they needed to be. 

But it was draining. Looking after everyone... 

Her phone buzzed then and glancing over at the screen from her dressing table she knew the driver had been waiting downstairs. 

Taking one last glance at her outfit, picking up her shoulder bag, mask and small jacket in case it got cold, she picked up her keys and locked her apartment before moving downstairs

The car trip hadn't taken longer than expected and besides, she had left early so missing peak hour was just part of the plan, turning up on the doorstep of the museum she was greeted by the curator who was already talking to her about the guest list and who had confirmed. She smiled slightly overwhelmed with the amount of compliments she had received and found herself stuttering slightly, "Y-Yes I, well I- I was hoping people would like it." 

"Tony Stark is on this list Sarah!" the curator exclaimed with a hysterical bark of excitement, to which she just nodded politely and excused herself to do a last minute check before guests began to arrive. 

To be honest, Sarah wasn't a crowds person and when the guests did begin to arrive, she moved toward the back as everyone filed in to the huge open ballroom, the ceiling towering above them. Lights and mosaic type movements covered the walls and ceiling, music played and people danced and drank, and of course the food was just as expected. 

Moving through the crowd her eyes glanced over the curator who seemed swarmed with special guests, congratulating them on the display, Sarah frowned slightly but sighed and let it go. This exhibit hadn't been something she had expected praise from, it wasn't about her or the curator, this was for an American Hero who had scarified his life for not only his country but many others. 

Taking a glass from one of the waiters trays, she moved toward the exhibit and away from the loud crowds and music, glancing over the many items and information that was on display. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there reading before she turned around, and without looking, nudged into someone. 

"My apologises, Ma'am." A soothing voice spoke, Sarah managed to glance up to the blue eyed masked man, wide eyed. 

"No, please, I wasn't paying attention-" she stuttered slightly, never really good at striking up a conversation. "-enjoy your night, Sir." 

The man seemed to smile then, noticing her nerves and the slight red shade in her cheeks. "Yeah, you too." he watched as she moved back toward the crowd gently before placing his hands in his pockets. "You did a really great job, by the way..." he called after her. 

Sarah paused, turning before blinking and holding the mans eyes, "A great job?" 

"A friend told me you where the designer of the exhibit, just thought that maybe- well, at least one person should thank you for it tonight." the man gave her a warm smile and it wasn't until then that she relaxed slightly. 

"Oh. Thank you... I uh, it's ok really. I didn't do it for anything other than to show the people... a bit more about who they were..." she turned toward the howling commando exhibit, Captain America's uniform from World War Two standing front and centre. "...and who he was." 

The man took a couple steps closer to stand beside her, looking up at the same uniform. "A lot of people think they already knew everything there was to know, I think Captain America would be thankful, you know- if he was ever to visit." 

"You think so?" Sarah smiled gently, eyes still on the uniform, "I fear that perhaps it might offend some, I've never been to war and none of my family has either, I just wanted to help educate and give thanks to those who fought for our freedom." 

A small huff came from the masked male and Sarah had turned her head in response, "It's not every day you meet someone who is so selfless, trust me, he'd be thankful." 

She felt her smile grow and a small giggle passes her lips, "You do realise you're talking as if you know... him, right?" 

"Maybe I do." the male responded with a slight smirk against his lips. 

Sarah laughed then, nodding her head, "Well, give him my thanks, next time you see him." 

Hearing someone call her name, she turned back toward the crowd, seeing the curator. 

"Enjoy your evening, Ma'am." the man bent his head gently forward, before Sarah nodded in return, "You too, and thank you for the kind words Mister uh-" 

"Rogers." The man answered with a smile before he too turned and moved back through the crowd, leaving Sarah with her mouth slightly agape. 

Rogers? No... it couldn't be.


	2. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the death of Nick Fury, Sarah recalls the first time they had met one another, and is sent one final message.

Since the night of the Gala, Sarah had mostly tried to forget about the mysterious man she had met, who claimed his last name had been 'Rogers'. For a little while she allowed the thought to cross her mind that perhaps it had been Captain America standing before her as his true identity, Steve Rogers, but then reminded herself that it was probably someones idea of a crude joke.

The Gala had been successful, Tony Stark having donated quite a lot of money to the charity, thanking the museum for supporting his 'star-spangled-friend'. The curator seemed overly impressed enough to give Sarah complete control and management over the Captain America exhibit, product and organisation. Happily she accepted the promotion of sorts and went about her work.

A loud buzz awoke Sarah from her Saturday sleep in, the curator on the screen, with a grunt she moved to answer it. "Morni-" her voice cut off by the frantic tone on the other end, "Wait- slow down I can-" Sarah tried to calm the curator but found her own eyes widening, reaching for her tv remote and turning on the television listening to the reporter.

"Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, was shot and confirmed dead earlier this morning in what appeared to be the car chase of the century. The tragic event has shook the superhero community and the city of Washington. There has been no comment from SHIELD directly on who the shooter may have been, but we have had a statement from the World Council that they are currently in pursuit of a potential lead. It is a sad day for the nation, and we give our best to SHIELD and the superhero community, rest in piece Colonel!"

Sarah sat up on her bed after hanging up, staring at the screen for a few moments after the news report had finished, she had met Nick Fury only once before- in secret.

On a field trip with the university to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the class had been divided into groups to work out an impossible equation. Her mind had already known it was impossible, because she remembered reading the exact equation in a text book three years prior, she'd been able to recall it instantly much like anything else she'd read, seen, heard or touched. Once it had crossed her eyes it was forever stored and able to be pulled forward in an instant, so instead of writing an answer, she wrote out the exact paragraph from the text book explaining it was impossible.

The next day she had been called to the deems office, once entering the office, the deem was not the one who greeted her. It was a tall man with an eye patch, dressed in mostly black clothing.

He introduced himself as Nick Fury, he confronted her with the paper she had been filled out whilst at NASA, at first it seemed like he had been accusing her of cheating. He also had a record of all her grades from across her previous schooling years, then explained that she wasn't in trouble but had an ability he didn't believe existed.

He called it an Eidetic Memory.

Of course Sarah had suspected this, being too intelligent to ignore the signs, plus she herself had read many papers on the theory. Her latest on Genetic Mutation by Professor Charles Xavier, which had just turned up under her dorm door one afternoon, no note and just the paper. Of course she had read it, and after a few days had come to terms with the facts, she was a mutant.

"I know." her voice had been quiet when confessing to the stranger in her deems office, eyes slanted downward, "I... suspected I was different, for a little while." Her voice had seemed distant, not really wanting to admit it out loud, that meant it was real. "I.. can recall things... things I read, touch, hear, see... in an instant, like they are right in front of me."

Nick had pulled up a chair then, listening and nodding on occasion, before finally he held her eyes and gave her a small smile. "What you can do, is a rare gift, no one alive can do what you can. I came here today to tell you to be careful, there's people in this world who would use your abilities against you, to control you. Right now, there's only two people alive who know what you can do, myself and Charles Xavier. He was the one who found you, made me aware of your existence and since then well- I've kept my eye on you."

"I'm under surveillance?" Her voice still quiet, though a little more confident, her brow furrowed.

"No. You're under protection. There's a difference." he explained, his head tilted slightly as he sat across from her, sighing. "You are a walking data bank, in fact that's your code name, and we need your help." he finally finished and Sarah huffed.

"So, there is a punchline, to all of this?"

"Isn't there always?" he didn't smile, he was serious about the help.

"What do you need me to do?" Her tone wavered, nervous to be involved in anything so classified, "I'm not.. I'm not a fighter, I don't have any combat tra-"

"You won't need it. All I need you to do, is read the files I send under your door, so they are stored in your memory bank. Once you insert the disk or drive into your laptop, they will erase themselves once it's ejected, SHIELD tech. So, in case anything goes wrong, you'll be my safety deposit box." he explained, to which Sarah didn't think was that bad.

Until she started receiving the files. They were completely transparent, not leaving anything to chance, she read and watched each disk that arrived. The disks wiping themselves once she was finished, and she never saw Nick Fury again.

When she moved from the dorm to her own apartment in Brooklyn the deliveries continued, sometimes once a month, sometimes once a week- and always she watched and read them.

A loud knock alerted her to her daydream and she snapped out of it, grabbing her robe and wiping a tear that had fallen off her cheek, moving to the front door of her apartment she paused and used a hand to cover her mouth.

There on the floor, another case file, only this one read Final Delivery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No violence in this chapter, this talks about the gift Sarah possesses and how she became an secret agent of SHIELD for Director Fury.


	3. The File

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah reads the file given by Fury who then orders it to be destroyed, on her way to do so, she is intercepted by a certain red-headed assassin.

Picking up the case file, reading the description, Sarah automatically recognised it was directly from Fury himself. Her hands trembled and she moved to make sure the doors were locked and shades covered any potential on-lookers. She also placed her mobile in the microwave just as fury had instructed, as it disrupted phone and internet signal so no other 'ears' could listen in to the messages. 

Pulling her laptop from her desk, she moved to the kitchen table in the middle of her apartment, television off. No distractions, ear buds in, opening the case file seeing a disk drive fall out into her palm. This one looked a little different than usual, longer and with a SHIELD logo on the front, when it had been plugged in a video screen popped up to play. 

It was Fury. 

"Data-bank, it's unfortunate to talk under such circumstances, as I did promise no contact directly from myself after our meeting some time ago. If you are receiving this message, it means that I've been killed, I'm hoping that doesn't happen but- sometimes things can't be predicted. The information on this drive is the last Intel I collected relating to a suspicious movement on board a SHIELD vessel, I want you to read it and see if you can analyse it with everything else you know. I'm praying there is something I've missed, stay sharp, and don't trust anyone. One of my Agents will be in contact with you, providing they find and decode my clues I've left behind, I'm going to deliver a separate drive to this agent which contains information on how to contact you, once you're finished take it to the local harbour and throw it in. No-one can find it. Stay safe and good luck."

The message finished, and files began to pop up on the screen including a file screen filled with coding, Sarah began to read through the secure file, her eyes darting quickly across the rows upon rows of information as her mind memorised each part distinctively as a picture in her mind. She always felt weird, seeing all the information, knowing that she'd be able to recall it in an instant later on. There were files on HYDRA, which she had read about extensively in past files, but this one mentioned a ghost file, and agent unseen or tracked- yet controlled. Sitting back after she'd scanned the drive, her mind felt as through it was buzzing, so much information being crammed into her head. The drive ejected and began to smoke as sparks flew from it's body. Immediately Sarah got up and grabbed a towel, beating it so it didn't leave scorch marks on her table top. The self-erase took only a few seconds to complete, before a burnt out drive lay flat and still, hesitantly Sarah picked it up and winced as it was still a little hot.

Grabbing her jacket and scarf, she threw on her boots and placed the burnt out drive deep inside her handbag before making her way to the door. Heading down in the elevator, tucking her hands into the pocket of her jacket, she moved into the lobby. Her heart skipped a beat when glancing up to the lobby desk seeing a familiar face, her mind working a million to one to shift through all the knowledge in the few short seconds. 

RUMLOW. BROCK.  
SHIELD AGENT, STRIKE TASK FORCE.  
X.O. ALEXANDER PIERCE, SECRETARY.

"Hey!" The man called out as Sarah attempted to continue walking forward, a grip on her arm pulling her up, "Hey, Miss, I'm sorry but have you received any packages this morning? I'm not sure if you heard but Nick Fury was shot dead last night, we're just trying to chase down a lead."

His eyes locked with her own, his grip firmer than it needed to be, and his body language telling her not to try anything stupid. His eyes narrowed when she didn't answer, "No. I'm sorry for your loss, I'm on my way to work." Her voice was less than stern, but the man seemed to nod, realising he must have frightened her. "Alright, well if you hear anything, you ring the hotline, ok? Have a good day Ma'am." He then moved on to the next person walking through the lobby. 

Heading out onto the streets, hearing the words of Fury echo in her mind about not trusting anyone, she decided to take the less public route toward the river. Having studied the street and underground maps of Washington, she knew most street camera's and their locations, attempting to blend into the crowds were possible. 

Finally she reached the harbour, standing at the edge of the pier, attempting to glance around non subtly to see if she'd been followed. A woman with a hood smiled gently toward her, approaching, "Hey, sorry, my phone's almost dead. If you have a phone, do you mind me making a quick call?" Sarah sighed out, relieved that it was just a normal question. 

"Oh, oh sure." She smiled gently, pulling out her iphone, and going to unlock it. Before she could it was snatched and thrown off the pier and into the water. "HEY!" Glancing back up, meeting the woman's eyes and her stern brow, Sarah paused as her mind calculated the appearance, "Who are you?"

"Quiet, we don't want to draw attention. First rule of trying to hide, never take a traceable phone, especially after trying so hard to stay off the grid." The woman pulled Sarah's wrist and she stumbled as they began walking back toward the city. "I'm Agent Romanoff, Fury sent me to track you down, we need to get back to the truck." 

Sarah in bewilderment, stuttered, walking at a faster pace to keep up with the woman, "The Black Widow?" Her voice slightly shrill as she hissed. "Wait-- I have-" she pulled back on the wrist, only for Natasha's grip to tighten. 

"Don't worry about the drive, it's untraceable, and destroyed. I tried to activate it before I approached you. You're safe, for now, not if we don't keep moving." Letting go of Sarah's wrist, "Or you can elect to stay here and have the strike team take you in for questioning, but I promise they won't be as nice as me." With a worried glance, Sarah nodded, walking beside Natasha willingly. 

From the road, Sarah couldn't see who was driving, "Backseat, we're getting out of town for a couple days, no questions." Feeling very overwhelmed but safer with the woman, she allegedly climbed in and shut the door. The truck took off fast, slipping into traffic and onto the freeway. 

Her eyes frantic and worried, settled on the revision mirror seeing a pair of blue eyes. She froze and felt her chest tighten, the same sky blue, flashed before her mind. A picture arising. The Gala, not two nights prior, a man... Rogers.

"Hello again Miss Briggs."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No violence, just cool cameo's and spy stuff.


End file.
